Need for China to step up fight against mpox: WHO report

China is currently witnessing world's fastest increase in cases of mpox (previously known as monkeypox), a recent report by World Health Organization (WHO) has said. The agency has recommended that the country acts quickly to bring the spread under control.

Asia has become as the new hotspot of the disease while countries in the Americas and Europe have mostly contained the mpox outbreak. The outbreak started in mid-2022.

Last year, countries like Japan, South Korea and Thailand witnessed sporadic cases. This year, these countries have reported weekly double-digit number of cases.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

However, the latest WHO data says that China has overtaken all other countries in the world. In last three months, 315 confirmed mpox cases have been found. However, irregularity in reporting from the government makes it hard to gauge the true scale of the disease.

Countries have shown varying success in containing mpox, which is less contagious than Covid-19 but has affected thousands across the world. The success in controlling mpox outbreak is often attributed to proactive measures like vaccination. A report in South China Morning Post (SCMP) has suggested that action taken by Chinese government leaves a lot to be desired.

Watch | WHO: China faces fastest rise in Mpox cases

“Compared with the response to Covid-19 […] the [Chinese] response is certainly dramatically different,” says Yanzhong Huang, who is a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations in the United States. Yanzhong was quoted by MIT Technology Review.

“Even though [mpox] is less likely to develop into a large outbreak in the country, the Pollyanna attitude may encourage the spread of the disease among the at-risk population – unless they take a more active campaign against the disease.”

“Overall, compared to where we were last year, we’re definitely in a different place,” says Krutika Kuppalli, who is an infectious-disease doctor quoted by MIT Technology Review.

“We have much fewer cases, but we are seeing sporadic outbreaks in different parts of the world.”

Also Read | China reports a five-fold increase in mpox cases; 96% patients are male

Chinese government has been criticised for being opaque about reporting true extent of the problem in the country. The authorities do not post number of infections on a regular basis.

“We also need to understand more about the people that have been infected,” Kuppalli says, “such as […] the demographics, the clinical presentation, their immune status and about how they’ve been presenting to care. I think that type of information is important.”

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE